Emiliano Martinez has talked up Lionel Messi's qualities as a leader after Argentina lifted their second international trophy in less than 12 months.
The Aston Villa goalkeeper reckons La Albiceleste 'fight like lions' for Messi, who captains Lionel Scaloni's triumphant team, and heaped praise on the Paris Saint-Germain superstar. Argentina beat Italy 3-0 in the first edition of the Finalissima at Wembley on Wednesday, as Messi provided two assists and a Man of the Match performance.
Martinez waxed lyrical about his teammates post-match, quoted as saying by TUDN : "A year ago we were nothing and today we are (World Cup) candidates because we won titles. We will always be candidates because we have the best in the world (in Messi). We are all lions who fight for him!"
La Albiceleste's last World Cup win was in 1986, eight years on from their first victory. With Messi potentially playing at his final tournament, the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner will be desperate to build on his long-awaited Copa America glory last summer which finally brought him silverware on the international stage.
Messi, now 34, has had a relatively average first season with PSG after his dramatic departure from Barcelona, scoring just six goals while assisting 14 as the French giants won the Ligue 1 title. His strength of personality has often being questioned by his critics, but his leadership for his country these days cannot be doubted.
Scaloni spoke about Messi's "maturity" ahead of the clash with Italy, saying: "He has improved a lot again. He understood the game, added a lot of maturity. Before he was impressive, he passed anyone and did what he wanted with the ball. Now he understands the game much better. Obviously, he is a year older every year like everyone else, but maturity is important and for him too."
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Messi blamed the effects of Covid-19 on his somewhat rocky campaign at club level, telling TyC Sports earlier this year: "It left me with after-effects in my lungs. I came back and it was like a month and a half without even being able to run because my lungs were affected."
The veteran also believes that he returned too early from the lay-off, adding: "I came back before I should have, and it got worse because I went too fast and it ended up setting me back. But I couldn't take it anymore, I wanted to run, to train. I wanted to get going. And in the end, it got worse."
